It all started in 2024 when I read a post on Steve Lewis’s wonderful blog (you can read it here) and that motivated me to read Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child’s first two novels in their Pendergast series (you can read that review here).

I’m a fan of origin stories, so Pendergast–The Beginning reveals more of enigmatic FBI Special Agent Aloysius X. L. Pendergast who in this novel is just beginning his crime-solving career. Pendergast is paired with a veteran, FBI Agent Dwight Chambers–who has lost his partner and his wife. Nearing retirement, Chambers hoped to coast the rest of his career at the New Orleans Field Office. But Pendergast–who has FBI “influence”–arranges to be partnered with the experienced Chambers.

Together, Pendergast and Chambers investigate a series of strange deaths where the victim’s right arm has been surgically removed. Chambers slowly learns that Pendergast operates in a unique fashion and discovers clues long ignored. The two Agents uncover a trail that leads back several years to Tulane University and a special program–that seems to have been completely erased.

Fans of Pendergast will learn more of his history and the source of his vast wealth. I was surprised to learn Pendergast’s favorite writer is Anthony Trollope! The tangled plot leads to an explosive ending and transitions into a chapter from The Relic. If you haven’t read any of the Pendergast mysteries, you’re missing out on a strange and clever series. GRADE: B+

AGENT PENDERGAST SERIES:

1 The Relic (1995)
2 Reliquary (1997)
3 The Cabinet of Curiosities (2002)
4 Still Life with Crows (2003)
5 Brimstone (2004)
6 Dance of Death (2005)
7 The Book of the Dead (2006)
8 The Wheel of Darkness (2007)
9 Cemetery Dance (2009)
10 Fever Dream (2010)
11 Cold Vengeance (2011)
12 Two Graves (2012)
12.5 Extraction (2012)
13 White Fire (2013)
14 Blue Labyrinth (2014)
15 Crimson Shore (2015)
16 The Obsidian Chamber (2016)
17 City of Endless Night (2017)
18 Verses for the Dead (2018)
19 Crooked River (2020)
20 Bloodless (2021)
21 The Cabinet of Dr. Leng (2023)
22 Angel of Vengeance (2024)
23 Pendergast: The Beginning (2026)

A lot of good music showed up in 1974 and some of it is included on Ultimate Seventies 1974. There’s “Help Me” by Joni Mitchell from her best album, Court and Spark. Eric Clapton’s classic “I Shot the Sheriff” never gets old.

Elton John gets two songs: “Bennie and The Jets” and “The Bitch is Back.” Who can forget the odd cover of “The Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk? And I’m fond of the suggestive “Midnight at the Oasis” by Maria Muldaur.

Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

Making History is a dark fantasy novella by K.J. Parker (aka, Tom Holt). A group of scholars are forced by a tyrannical King (think Trump) to invent a fake ancient civilization to justify a war with a country that the King wants to invade and pillage. The narrator of Marking History is a linguistics professor tasked with creating a fake language for the invented culture required by the King. The creation of the fake ancient civilization must be convincing enough to lead to war or the scholars will be facing execution if they fail. 

Like all of K. J. Parker’s works, Making History is witty, sardonic in tone, and suggests that history is propaganda. GRADE: B

Just a heads-up for you Star Wars fans: the 10-episode series,Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord is scheduled to premiere on Disney+ on April 6, 2026, with two episodes being released each week until May 4.

As you might remember, Maul is a former Sith lord from the planet Dathomir who is trying to find his place following the end of the Clone Wars. You can expect a lot of action and cunning from this new Star Wars saga.

“Gated communities. Home theaters. Private schools. Private jets. Privately run public parks. Private world-saving behind the backs of those to be saved.” (p. 199)

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different. ” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Anand Giridharadas presents a different picture of the Rich in Winners Take All. The Rich spend massive amounts of money trying to convince the world that they are benefactors of the Planet. Their charities project Hope, but many of them are just tax write-offs.

In reality, Anand Giridharadas shows how the Rich are moulding societies to their benefit. Politicians do their bidding in order to get million dollar campaign contributions. The Rich gave an expensive RV to a Supreme Court Justice. Did that affect future Supreme Court decisions?

Currently, Trump’s pal Larry Ellison, who purchased Paramount, now is going to buy Warner Brothers and get CNN in the deal. Will that affect broadcast journalism? Soon CNN will be a clone of FOX NEWS.

Billionaires rule but pretend Democracy still works. We all know it doesn’t. Money is the root of all Evil…and Evil is growing. Winners Take All is a disturbing book by providing examples of the rot creeping over our institutions and governments. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prologue 3

Chapter 1 But How is the World Changed? 13

Chapter 2 Win-Win 35

Chapter 3 Rebel-Kings in Worrisome Berets 60

Chapter 4 The Critic and the Thought Leader 87

Chapter 5 Arsonists Make the Best Firefighters 129

Chapter 6 Generosity and Justice 154

Chapter 7 All That Works in the Modern World 201

Epilogue “Other People Are Not Your Children” 245

Acknowledgments 265

A Note On Sources 271

Index 277

I’ve read Edward Ashton’s Mickey 7 (you can read my review here) and its sequel Antimatter Blues (you can read my review here). Ashton’s new SF novel, The Fourth Consort (2025), introduces a new series of characters in a First Contact tale with some surprises.

Dalton Greaves, a former soldier, is recruited by an alien organization calling itself Unity to make contact with sentient species. Dalton is paired with a woman called Neera, who seems to have her own agenda. After their starship is destroyed, Dalton and Neera find themselves marooned on an alien planet until a rescue ship arrives.

Unity has a competitor in another alien federation that calls itself The Assembly. Dalton has to deal with a deadly alien he calls Breaker who is also trying to recruit the aliens on this planet to reject Unity and come to the Assembly for membership. As the title suggests, Dalton finds himself selected by the alien Queen as her Fourth Consort. This is not an appealing prospect as Dalton learns the Queen has just eaten the First Consort.

I enjoy Edward Ashton’s droll humor and clever plotting. If you’re looking for an entertaining SF novel with thrills and surprises, give The Fourth Consort a try. GRADE: B+

I’m a sucker for trying new coffee flavors. This limited edition of Starbucks Brown Sugar Cinnamon K-cups are available from now to June 2026. Here’s the nutritional information:

Starbucks Brown Sugar Cinnamon Cold Brew Concentrate (Sweetened) (Per 6 fl oz serving)

• Calories: 60
• Total Fat: 0g
• Sodium: 0mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 14g
• Sugars: 11g
• Protein: 1g
• Potassium: 510mg (10% DV) Starbucks +1

Other Formats

• Ground Coffee / K-Cups: These products contain 0 calories, 0g fat, 0g sugar, and 0g carbs, featuring natural flavors without added sweeteners.

If you enjoy flavored coffee with cinnamon and some sweetness you might enjoy this. Do you have a favorite coffee?

I am a big fan of Pulp Fiction and Will Murray–writer of wonderful adventures of Doc Savage, Cthulhu, Sherlock Holmes, and Tarzan–who brings back a Pulp Hero to take on a Pulp Villain. Secret Agent X is a master of disguise who was once an intelligence agent. Now he has given up his former identity to fight crime as the nameless, faceless Secret Agent X with the ability to impersonate anyone. Secret Agent X was a pulp magazine that ran for more than forty issues from Ace Magazines. Paul Chadwick created the character and the stories were written by Chadwick with various other pulp fiction writers, chiefly G.T. Fleming-Roberts.

Doctor Death is one of the few villains to have his own pulp magazine, a  short-lived pulp science fiction magazine published by Dell Magazines in 1935. Altus Press has reprinted five Doctor Death novels and several short stories. Doctor Death was a former academic named Dr. Rance Mandarin. He is a master of both scientific and mystical arts which makes him incredibly powerful.

Doctor Death is “determined to hurl civilization back to the Dark Ages”! Harold Ward, created Doctor Death and wrote the novels under the pseudonym “Zorro”.

As a master of science and the supernatural, Doctor Death presents problems to Secret Agent X that he can’t overcome by himself. After an almost fatal battle with Doctor Death, Secret Agent X decides he needs help in stopping this super-villain.

Secret Agent X recruits three other crime fighters: The Cobra, Moon Man, and The Griffon. Together, they are the Secret Circle.

Secret Agent X found Doctor Death’s hidden lair in the deadly catacombs. The Secret Circle face Elementals, Harpies, Minotaurs, and Zombies in the assault on Doctor Death’s booby-trapped hideaway!

If you like The Avengers and the Justice League, you’ll enjoy the epic conclusion of Secret Agent X Vs. Dr. Death! The team of crime fighters face many perils in their battle with Doctor Death. You’ll be on the edge of your seat! GRADE: A

With the gloominess of our current situation, we all need some Love and Happiness. This compilation from 1990 brings some of the fun back with songs like “In the Midnight Hour” by Wilson Pickett and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers.

Who can resist “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King? Or “Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me” by Glady Knight and The Pips?

Do you remember these songs? Any favorites here? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST: